Regardless of the discussions about climate change, high fuel prices and a lack of parking spaces, the number of cars registered in Wiesbaden has increased significantly since 1995.
Around 165,000 vehicles are registered in the city and on the roads as of the end of 2021. There are around 28,000 more cars than there were 26 years ago, an increase of more than 20 percent.
The city administration has announced this and refers to information from the Office for Statistics and Urban Research.
The cars of visitors and commuters from the surrounding area are not included.
At the same time, the conversion of public space is progressing and the city is expanding its cycle path network.
This leads to conflicts of use and political disputes.
The Free Voters/Pro Auto faction criticizes the planned elimination of further parking spaces in the Westend.
Anyone who comes home from work in their car in the evening and lives in the West End needs nerves of steel.
It is not uncommon for working residents to drive through the neighborhood for more than half an hour in search of a parking space, only to park somewhere in such a way that the next morning there is a ticket under the windscreen wiper.
Now there is a risk of further parking spaces being lost, because Head of Traffic Andreas Kowol (Die Grünen) announced in the middle of the week that Yorckstraße in the Westend should not only be renewed, but also rebuilt.
This is to ensure that the sidewalks have a width of 2.5 meters on both sides.
In addition, the sidewalks should be brought forward into the street space at intersections and junctions, so that pedestrians can see better when they cross the street.
In addition to additional bicycle parking spaces and a charging station for e-bikes, parking spaces for e-scooters and rental bikes are provided.
Cost point: 3.7 million euros
So that “as many” parking spaces as possible can be retained, Yorckstraße will be a one-way street from Bismarckring in the direction of Nettelbeckstraße, only cyclists are allowed to drive in the opposite direction.
Parking spaces are intended for delivery services during the day, and residents are allowed to park there at night.
30 parking spaces will be lost, the city is currently calculating with costs of 3.7 million euros.
“With the thorough repair and redesign, we will not only ensure more traffic safety and more space for pedestrians in the outer west end;
vacant areas can also be unsealed and planted,” said Kowol, pointing out that this improves the urban climate in the densely built-up inner city.
The city council still has to approve it.
The deputy leader of the Free Voters/Pro Auto faction, Christian Hill, described these plans as "complete madness".
In an area where the parking shortage is greatest, such moves are "a slap in the face to any righteous citizen" who relies on their car.
"It's downright a shame that Wiesbaden is apparently ruled by abysmal car haters.
This harms the citizens and Wiesbaden as a business location.”
More distance between cyclists and cars
Since Kowol took office, thousands of parking spaces in Wiesbaden have probably been abolished without need, Hill suspected.
Even the responsible department allegedly does not know exactly how many there are.
A request from March could not be answered.
"Either they lie to us or they really don't know what they're doing," Hill said.
In fact, the traffic department announced on February 27 that it could not say how many parking spaces in Wiesbaden had been eliminated since 2016.
There are no corresponding statistics.
Kowol is also planning to expand the cycle paths along Klarenthaler Strasse in the direction of the city center and along Hochheimer Strasse in the Kostheim district.
On Klarenthaler Strasse, the cycle paths between Kurt-Schumacher-Ring and Gneisenaustrasse are to be widened and designed as environmental lanes.
This not only speeds up bus traffic, but also makes overtaking safer.
Barrier-free pedestrian crossings are to be created at the intersections of Klarenthaler Strasse and Elsässer Strasse as well as Klarenthaler Strasse and Kurt-Schumacher-Ring.
The parking spaces will be relocated between Gneisenaustraße and Dotzheimer Straße so that cyclists are safer on separate paths.
The cycle lanes on Hochheimer Strasse are to be widened between Kostheimer Landstrasse and Hallgarter Strasse,
displacement of the car
“For the first time on Hochheimer Strasse we are creating cycle lanes with a width of 2.25 meters over a longer stretch.
This is a new quality for Wiesbaden,” said Kowol.
This project is part of the clean air plan, with which a diesel driving ban could have been avoided.
The two projects are estimated to cost a total of 1.9 million euros.
City officials have yet to approve it.
The AfD parliamentary group has also gotten involved in the discussion about transport policy and accuses the Greens, SPD, Volt and Left Party that the planned introduction of a speed limit is “only about driving cars out”.
Not even the traffic department knows whether a speed of 30 or 40 has a direct influence on the flow of traffic or the pollutant emissions, complained traffic policy spokesman Denis Seldenreich and referred to a response from the magistrate in which this was explained.
The analysis of the development of the vehicle population can be downloaded from the internet at www.wiesbaden.de/statistics.